Prepare Your Children For the Outside World

As a follow-up to my posting on the Shul Desecration and the Abomination on the “so-called Cultural Scene in Israel” and about how to raise Jewish children on the right path, I present the following:

Rav Avigdor Miller on Raising Children

Q:  How do we help our children prepare themselves to stand strong against all the negative influences of the outside world?

A:
Well, that's a very good question. One thing I can tell you is, no libraries. Don't go into libraries anymore. And don't bring your children into the libraries. Once upon a time a library was a nice place, by the way. But today it's no good. No good at all! Libraries are dirt today. They are garbage.

Now, once upon a time, the streets in America were kosher streets. The gentile streets; yes. They weren't holy, but they were kosher. You could walk in the streets. Once upon a time a gay man was put into jail. I remember. Gays were put in jail. A vagabond, someone who didn't work and just wandered the streets, was arrested. If a man was a vagabond, just hanging around on the streets, the policeman would yell at him, "What are you doing?!" If he was just hanging around, he would be arrested. Nowadays, they would arrest the policeman for yelling at him.

And so, the world is crazy today. The literature is filthy. Filthy, disgusting ideas. Terrible attitudes and ideas. And you'll find it all in the library. If you let your children go to the library, you're a rotzei'ach, a murderer. I'm sorry to tell you that, but what can I do. To put that filth into their minds is to destroy them.

And I want to tell you that I'm very much worried. "Will Hashem continue to keep quiet about America?" I'm very worried. America is becoming so wicked today, I don't know what to expect. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. I'm worried. Hashem will not continue to keep quiet. How can He?!

And I want to tell you something else. You might not like this, but I'll tell you anyhow. The best countries in the world today are the Arabian countries. Yes, many of the Arabian countries. I have a booklet - a guidebook for gays. I have it at home. It tells you how to travel. So it tells you that when you come to an Arabian country, stay out! It's dangerous for your life to go there. But when you come to Israel, it says here's a place you can go in Israel. And here's another place you can go. It gives addresses. Israel has good places where you can go; that's what it says in that book.

The Knesset, that holy group of tzadikim, passed a law that promotes this type of activity, this behavior that Hashem says is a to'eivah, an abomination. They made it very clear that in Israel, what they call the Jewish State, there's nothing wrong at all with being a proud gay. And in America as well, the streets are filled with filth.

Now, what did Hakodosh Boruch Hu do? He gave the Arabian countries oil. You know, there are so many Arabian countries that are soaking in wealth. There are millionaires and multi-millionaires in the Arabian countries. Billionaires! All because of oil. Now, why did Hashem give them oil? It's a reward, I think. I think it's a reward for their attitudes of morality. I'm not saying they're tzadikim. No, no. Not at all. They are murderers. Vicious, blood-thirsty people. And they deserve a big mapalah - a big downfall. But because there is so much morality there, and they're not hefker like in Eretz Yisroel and in America, so Hashem is rewarding them.

Now, Hakodosh Boruch Hu despises the movies. No movies! And there are no filthy movies allowed in the good Arabian countries. No movies. And you'll notice that in Williamsburg there are no movies either. Unless maybe in the Latin section, there are no movies in Williamsburg. Because Jews, good Jews, don't go to the movies. In Boro Park, it's hard to find a movie theatre. But in the Arabian countries there are no movies at all. Movies are a sakanah, a danger.

And not only that - even the newspapers are a sakanah. And therefore, if you want to protect your children, make sure to separate them from all the rish'us, all the wickedness, of the world. As much as possible, separate them from the stupidity of the outside world. Don't let it come into your home. Internet, computers, radios. Keep them out as much as possible.

Fill your house with simchah, with simchah shel mitzvah. Make your home a place of the happiness of mitzvos. Purim should be a great day of happiness and excitement. Chamishah Asar b'Shvat you should celebrate. Chanukah should be made into a big simchah. You should take all the opportunities that you can and make them happy occasions. Shabbos, of course. And every Yom Tov. They should be made into happy occasions. Always fill your home with simchah shel mitzvah so that the children should see that the home of Hashem is a place of happiness - a place of fulfillment. To be a frum Jew is an opportunity for good times. Always make celebrations in the home. The melavah malkah, if possible, is a very fine opportunity to make children happy. And once they see that the home is a home of simchah, they won't look in other places.

The truth is that there is no simchah like a frum environment. It's a real simchah for the neshamah. And children can be taught after a while to feel that that the real happiness of life - the true happiness - is only in a frum environment. And they begin to realize that the outside word smells bad. It really smells bad out there and you have to teach them them that. Wicked people smell bad. You see wicked people and they really smell bad. You see women undressed in the street and they smell terrible. That's all. That's what you have to teach them. That wicked people smell wicked.

And after a while they will gain the proper attitude. They look down at all the wicked people and all the wicked attitudes and ideas of the wicked world. They despise them. And once they despise them, they're not going to try to imitate them.

TAPE # E-194 (June 1999)

PS: Rabbi Mizrachi speaks very highly about Rav Miller zt”l, and my husband was a talmid of the Rav for umpteen years, until the Rav's passing.